Prelude to Fate
by Lady Raeyner
Summary: A cunning young thief, and the secret pride of the infamous pirate ship, and a clashing of worlds will test the crews strength. Simple summary, complex story. Rated for language and violence.
1. Intro to a Prelude

Disclaimer: I don't own Pirates of the Caribbean or any of the characters besides my own.

Prelude to Fate

Chapter one: Intro to a Prelude

She rode cautiously, careful to step in pre-trodden earth so as to conceal her path. With every sound in the forest she listened intently as the ears of her horse pricked up: waiting in the dark, anticipating discovery. Ten minutes she would wait before silently signaling her mount onward. The was a risky thing, to be out in this forest past sundown, and tricky business indeed to stay alive one you were captured. It was something she had to avoid above all else.   
Her horse stopped abruptly then starting moving to the left of the path. He was veering off towards the dense brush of the forest. Was there something that she hadn't heard? She didn't think so. They were soundless in the quiet night, any sound made they were certain to hear. She tried urging her horse back to the center of the path, where it was most worn down and covered in hoof prints. That was when she saw it, a quick shining of metal as the trees overhead momentarily shifted in the wind to let the light of the moon down.   
Nimbly, she dismounted and landed on the ground with a crack. Shit, she thought. A broken twig now lay snapped under her heavy leather-riding boots. The wind has ceased so not even the slight rustling of leaves could make cover for the sound that seemed to echo throughout the entire forest. The silence in the dark was overwhelmingly eerie now. Not a sound. She heaved a silent sigh of relief. Slowly, and watching her footing, she now moved expertly across the ground and knelt down beside the spot of suspicion.   
Taking out a box of matches, she risked striking one. Cupping her hand around the flame to conceal the light as best she could, she surveyed the intricate groundwork that was before her. It was a system of fine ropes, no thicker than common thread, held tightly between thin blades about three inches wide protruding from the ground. They were set down in a pattern of rectangles, with one rectangle set on opposite sides of the path every couple of feet, connected diagonally by the same thread that connected the blades inside the rectangles. She removed one of her gloves and lightly set a fingertip on the top of one of the blades. She bled. She tried bending it, but despite the paper-thin construction, it held strong. She guessed it was made of some sort of metal. She then stood up and found a thick stick close to the side of the path. She moved further down, about ten yards ahead of where her horse stood, still unmoving, ears up, listening for her. She laid her body flat on the ground next to one of the rectangles and with slow precision dropped in centered over the rope.   
Very quickly she was overwhelmed with a series of flashing events. The rope cut halfway through the stick in an instant before it slacked and the blades began glowing bright red up and down the path. She chanced a look back at her horse; one of his hears was twitching nervously. Then, in a delayed reaction as if to trick a passerby into security, a massive plank plated with arrows swung down from overhead barely grazing her back. A single arrow cut through the air in a high-pitched whistle.   
And then she heard it.   
Hoof beats.   
Damnit. "Maiy!" The horse came swiftly, dodging the lethal framework of blades and rope, and continued to gallop as his rider leapt smoothly into the saddle. From the booming of the approaching hooves she estimated a mere minute before they were upon her.   
Dismissing her previous tactics of silence, they now charged off the path and into the overgrown forest. Here the ground was harder and they could fly faster. It didn't matter if they were heard any longer, for she could almost feel them closing in around her. In the distance she heard a low rumble. The ocean. She was a lot closer than she had thought. Damnit. She had been so close. Another arrow whizzed past her. Shit, they were close. She could just see the breaking of the forest line now. Only a little farther. She had to force herself to not look back at the horsemen who were undoubtedly right behind her now. The closet rider couldn't be any more than a few feet behind her own horse. More arrows.   
There was now a rider beside her, and she had an idea.   
His bow was drawn, and he released; barely missing her as it stuck into her saddle. Grabbing the arrow and pushing out of the stirrups, she swung back out of the saddle and out, kicking him off balance. As he fell, she caught his bow in midair, swinging on to the now empty saddle of his mount. She then drew back the bow and turning around in the saddle, shot at her first moving target. She hit him. But it wasn't severe enough to dismount him. She dropped the bow and hastily uncovered her own from underneath her cloak, drawing from her quiver a fresh arrow. She hit him in the throat this time, and with slight satisfaction heard him scream mercy before his body fell limp from his horse. There were two riders left, and more were soon to be following. She noticed that neither of them had bows, apparently the first two were supposed to do the job, so she slung her bow over her shoulder and pressed forward. They were gaining on her, but she wasn't worried. She was nearly at the edge of the forest.

A/N: I know it kind of leaves you hanging there, and it was short, but I will get better. If you liked it, or if you didn't like it, please review and tell me what you think so far! 


	2. Beginning of a Bloodline

Disclaimer: I don't own Pirates of the Caribbean or any of the characters except for my own.

Prelude to Fate

Chapter two: Beginning of a Bloodline

The forest line was rapidly approaching. The hard earth was slowly becoming softer as the soil mixed with sand from the nearby beach. Their pace was slowing but she still had several yards between her and the other two riders that pursued her. Too much of a distance for them to make a swing at her with the glinting blades they gripped in their hands. She confidently pushed forward until-

Oh shit. Just her luck. A huge tree trunk, at least four feet thick, lay fallen at the edge of the forest, completely blocking her path. If she tired to go around it, the enemy would most certainly cut her off and she would be over. _Curses_, she muttered under her breath. She looked down at her mount, already covered in sweat and breathing heavily. Could he make the jump? She didn't know. She looked over at her own horse, who now ran forward with an empty saddle, and managed to grab the reins and bring her current mount up to speed with Maiy. Ten yards. They were going to jump whether or not the damn horse wanted to. 

They cleared it. 

She glanced over her shoulder to see the two riders also clear the jump, and horrified, to her left, she saw about ten men charging forward. Three of them had bows. Five had pistols.  Thirteen against one. She had had worse odds before. This would be no different. Now where was her damn pistol? 

"Aidan!" Oh thank goodness. It was about time. A tall figure had appeared at the edge of the water. 

"William! Here!" She tossed Maiy's reins to him as he jumped up into the saddle, pistol in hand. 

"I thought you might need some help."

"You know I can handle myself."

"You're right, looks like you've done a pretty good job so far at passing through unnoticed." He fired his pistol. A horse neighed loudly as the bullet struck him in the chest. He reared, striking the rider of another horse with his great hooves. Finally, he lost his footing in the soft sand and fell heavily back, crushing his own rider beneath his massive body. Aidan noticed that the man who was struck feel from his horse and lay in the sand, unmoving. 

"Take the rowboat." He titled his head to point to the water, where she noticed a small boat sat rocking back and forth in the quiet surf.  "We're docked at the main port, about four hundred yards east. If you continue in the direction, we'll meet you somewhere out there." He gestured towards the ocean.

"And what will you do, Sir William?"

"I, Miss Aidan, will ride off to the port while expertly dodging bullets and slaying the men who do chase you." He winked, and Aidan rolled her eyes.  She feared that after ten years aboard the Black Pearl some of the Captains arrogance had rubbed off on the gentleman. But she didn't doubt that he could escape her pursuers, for he knew this land better than she did, so she dismounted and ran to the shore and into the boat. Pushing off from the shore, she grinned broadly as yet another man fell from his mount, this time splattering the clean, white sand with crimson blood. One of the riders ran forward, in an attempt to stop her as she rowed away from the beach, but Will shot his horse in the leg and it stumbled, momentarily throwing the man off balance before he quickly dismounted and the horse collapsed. She was getting farther and farther away from shore, until she was out far enough and she turned the boat eastward. 

Back on the sand, William Turner sighed heavily. What a mess Aidan had created for him. She was always stirring up trouble, and he had the feeling she liked it that way. When he saw that she had left her pistol behind, he knew he had better go out after her. She spent far too much time being cunning and old fashioned and not enough time on practicality. She wanted to do things the fun way, thievery was a sport for her, and she couldn't go too long without a chase or a dramatic sword fight. Anything to get her blood moving in a frenzy. 

Its not like he mined too terribly, but honestly, there was no way that she could have slipped up enough this time to bring any attention to herself, unless she did it on purpose. _Thirteen men. Damnit Aidan. _And that wasn't counting anyone who she might have killed along the way. How did anyone as young as she become so ruthless? 

He stopped his horse and turned to face the remaining men. "Hear me. I can either kill you all now or you can let me be."

One of the men shouted from behind the ranks, "Looks to me like you're the one running. Not exactly in a position to be make such offers, eh boys?" The other men laughed. One of them cocked his pistol. 

"Have it your way then." William shrugged innocently before taking out another pistol from beneath his cloak. He really did hate bloodshed. Why did people have to be so damn stubborn? A bullet grazed his shoulder but he barely winced as he cocked both pistols and began firing. If he could only wound the horses, that would be enough to get him to the docks unhindered. Without seeing what damage he had done, he spun the horse around and charged madly to where the ship sat. 

They had safely found Aidan waiting impatiently out at sea and were now sailing at a decent speed away from the coast. William successfully made it back with the single bullet wound that was now being treated by William's wife, Elizabeth. Captain Jack Sparrow was lounging back casually in his usual chair, shifting through the bundle of goods that Aidan had brought back with her. 

Without warning, he hurled is aside; the many sliver and gold trinkets crashing loudly to the cabin floor. All of them jumped.

"Nice job you did, love. All that commotion, all that bloody mess, and you bring me back every damn possession of the general but the thing I'm looking for."

Aidan looked scornful and very defiant as she pushed aside her chair to face Sparrow. "How the bloody hell am was I supposed to retrieve your precious treasure when I don't know what I'm looking for."

"The least you could have done, my dear, was make an effort not to bring attention to yourself. Pretty soon Ill have the whole damn British fleet after me thanks to you, you little wench." 

She spit in his face. Without hesitation he whipped out his knife and pressed it up against the girls throat. She didn't move. A small chuckle rose up from the both of them, an obvious smirk planted firmly on Sparrow's mouth. A smile line of blood appeared and dripped down her neck, staining her white blouse. 

"I might've known." And without another word the Captain left the cabin to complete silence. 

A/N: Woo, I know that's a little vague and weird-ish, but no worries, it shall all be explained. 


End file.
